Kwaku Sakyi-Addo 'Who am I?': BBC correspondent in Accra, Ghana identifies himself

	Kwaku Sakyi-Addo; sustained by Akon blood

Yet when I'm in America, I'm nothing except African.

Who, in South Dakota, cares whether you're a Nubian or a Libyan; Omotswana or Omoitsikere?

You all look and sound the same, - and carry the same illness.

If I'm in Europe, I'm first an African, then I'm Ghanaian second.

Europeans tend to appreciate the subtle differences among people from my continent.

And when I'm in another African country, I'm Ghanaian-African.

I like to express my Africanness through the uniqueness of being Ghanaian.

21st century reality

But at home, I'm Ghanaian first, and then I'm Akan.

Sure, Ghana is the artificial construction of 19th century European political draftsmen who sketched haphazardly, and artisans who laid their bricks rather randomly.

The zebra need not pronounce its zebritude

But I live in 21st century reality.

I am sustained by Akan blood. But I cannot present that in a vial to the immigration desk at Heathrow.

"Passport please!"

As for being African at home, that's as the stripes of the zebra. It's a given.

More like Soyinka's tiger and its tigritude, as against Senghor's Negro who waxes into poetry over his negritude, the zebra need not pronounce its zebritude. It simply stripes!

My full lips speak eloquently enough of my equatorial ancestry. Of my place in the tropical sun. Of what and who I am.

But for the avoidance of doubt, I shall say it one more time: I am African; I am Ghanaian; I am Akan and I am human.

The new Network Africa competition seeks explore our African identity. Who are you? Do you identify yourself first and foremost with your family, your ethnic group, your country, or your continent? and how does that affect the way you behave, the way you see the world?

If you'd like to share your personal thoughts on this subject, e-mail no more than 300 words to [email protected], and put 'Who Am I' in the subject line. Or write to Who Am I, Network Africa, BBC Bush House, London.